Today marked our first official backpacking trip since the AT. About 50 miles North of Silver City, NM lies the Gila Wilderness. After confirming our planned route with the KOA park owner, we made our way North on a windy long Forest Service road. Beulah stay behind for some R&R and Judy had no idea what was in store for her.
Our arrival in the afternoon gave us time to visit the Native American ruins (cliff dwellers) and make camp for the night at Little Scorpion Campgrounds. Judy was a little confused when we pitched the tent. She kept looking back at the car. We got her settled in and off to sleep. Around 3AM I got up to "water the woods" and Judy followed. When I turned my headlamp on to see the way and she freaked out. It was all I could do to coax her back inside. If you ask her, she would say that around 3AM she was abducted by an alien with a bright light and a glowing yellow spaceship. 5AM Shadow felt her shivering even though she was wearing her fleece jacket. He scooped her up and placed her inside he sleeping bag.
The next morning we headed out at TJ's Corral trail head. Judy was ready to go with her new REI backpack. She carried her food and jacket while we carried her water. As we descended into Middle Fork Gila River Canyon we passes more cliff dwellings and pictographs from the 1200's. We made a left when we hit the Gila River and walked upstream through the canyon. The trail crossed the river more than I could count. Sure enough after crossing the 15th time, just as our RV park owner said, we arrived at our first hot spring. It was a large pool of clear water about 2 1/2 feet deep. There were 3 other guys with horses that had made the same trek. We pressed on to meet our 10 mile day goal. The trail continued down the canyon crossing the river where the 1,000 foot cliffs would meet the water. Judy began getting tired of fighting the river currents so the last 4 crossings of the day, Shadow carried her and at one point he slipped on a rock and fell like a tree. Judy made her way ashore about 15 feet down river and was not happy. The sun was setting behind the cliffs when we found a flat spot to stop. While debating on where to pitch the tent, Judy layed down and fell asleep. We woke her to eat and moved her closer to the fire Shadow had made for warmth. after dinner Shadow went fishing while I did dishes. I turned to see that Judy had already made her way inside the tent on top of our sleeping bags.
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| Jordan Hot Springs |
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| Judy on the trail |
Country Mouse and Shadow
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